Lifeboat Foundation

As humanity travels back to the Moon in the next few years and potentially Mars in the next decade, how much of a role should planetary protection play regarding the safeguarding of these worlds? This is what a recent study published in Space Policy hopes to address as a team of international researchers discuss prioritizing planetary protection and sustainability could not only aid in space exploration but also sustainability on Earth, as well.

For the study, the researchers propose the expansion of current planetary protection policies to help safeguard against security, orbital debris, and crowding, as current policies only focus on preventing biological contamination from human activities. While biological contamination might not be a concern on the Moon given it lacks the necessary conditions to support life, the planet Mars is hypothesized to have once possessed microbial life deep in its ancient past and could potentially be hosting life beneath its surface.

“Sustainability must become a core principle of human space exploration,” said Dr. Dimitra Atri, who is an investigator in the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science at NYU Abu Dhabi and lead author of the study. “Just as we view climate change as the great challenge facing our terrestrial human society, the space community should begin to address space sustainability with the same urgency.”

When Storm Ciarán battered northwestern Europe in November 2023, it left a trail of destruction. The low-pressure system associated with Storm Ciarán set new records for England, marking it as an exceptionally rare meteorological event. The storm’s intensity caught many off guard, exposing the limitations of current weather-prediction models and highlighting the need for more accurate forecasting in the face of climate change. As communities grappled with the aftermath, the urgent question arose: How can we better anticipate and prepare for such extreme weather events?

A recent study by Charlton-Perez et al. (2024) underscored the challenges faced by even the most advanced AI weather-prediction models in capturing the rapid intensification and peak wind speeds of Storm Ciarán. To help address those challenges, a team of Microsoft researchers developed Aurora, a cutting-edge AI foundation model that can extract valuable insights from vast amounts of atmospheric data. Aurora presents a new approach to weather forecasting that could transform our ability to predict and mitigate the impacts of extreme events—including being able to anticipate the dramatic escalation of an event like Storm Ciarán.

Aurora’s effectiveness lies in its training on more than a million hours of diverse weather and climate simulations, which enables it to develop a comprehensive understanding of atmospheric dynamics. This allows the model to excel at a wide range of prediction tasks, even in data-sparse regions or extreme weather scenarios. By operating at a high spatial resolution of 0.1° (roughly 11 km at the equator), Aurora captures intricate details of atmospheric processes, providing more accurate operational forecasts than ever before—and at a fraction of the computational cost of traditional numerical weather-prediction systems. We estimate that the computational speed-up that Aurora can bring over the state-of-the-art numerical forecasting system Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) is ~5,000x.

An Israeli startup has developed a way to make lead acid batteries last four times longer, disrupting a multi-billion-dollar industry and potentially making them the rechargeable – and recyclable – energy storage method of choice around the world.

Lead acid is the second most common battery technology worldwide and the power cells are currently used as the starter batteries in cars, trucks and motorcycles.

The batteries have a positive plate made of lead dioxide on one end, and a spongy lead negative plate on the other end, with sulfuric acid flowing between them both to conduct the electricity.

The game-changing technique could cut costs and time.

A new discovery could pave the way for supercapacitors that can charge phones and laptops in 60 seconds and electric cars in a mere ten minutes.

In a press release, the University of Colorado at Boulder announced that its researchers have achieved a breakthrough when it comes to our understanding of the way charged ion particles behave — a discovery that could be the key to figuring out the logistics for the long-anticipated energy storage capabilities of supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors have long been proposed as a means of charging electronics lightning-fast, but until now, figuring out how to increase the energy density to match or exceed those of lithium-ion batteries has, for the most part, eluded scientists. Compared to conventional batteries, which can store as much as ten times more energy than today’s supercapacitors, this technology has remained in the realm of the possible but not yet practical.

A new proof-of-concept device trapped solar radiation and used it to heat an object to a blistering 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000 degrees Celsius), raising hopes that steel furnaces could be powered by solar energy.

Even though the growth in private sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have slowed in the last year, new research published this week suggests that the number of charging points around the globe will skyrocket to 64 million by 2029.

The figures headline new research from British market research firm Juniper Research, which forecasts EV charging points will rise from 21.8 million globally in 2024 to 64 million by 2029.

According to Juniper, the growth in private EV sales have slowed in the last year due to various factors including range anxiety and reduced EV purchase subsidies for consumers.

A research team has developed a novel “pulse-shaped” light method to enhance the electrical conductivity of PbS quantum dot solar cells. This new technique, which replaces the lengthy traditional heat treatment process, generates substantial energy at regular intervals, significantly improving efficiency and addressing defects caused by light, heat, and moisture exposure. PbS quantum dots, known for their wide absorption range and low processing costs, are now more viable for commercial use. This advancement is expected to facilitate the broader application of quantum dot technology in optoelectronic devices. Credit: SciTechDaily.com.

A research team headed by Professor Jongmin Choi from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology has successfully developed a “PbS quantum dot” capable of quickly improving the electrical conductivity of solar cells. This collaborative effort involved Professor Changyong Lim of the Department of Energy Chemical Engineering at Kyungpook National University, led by President Wonhwa Hong, and Professor Jongchul Lim from the Department of Energy Engineering at Chungnam National University, under the leadership of President Jeongkyoum Kim.

The team identified a method to enhance electrical conductivity through the use of “pulse-shaped” light, which generates substantial energy in a concentrated manner at regular intervals. This method could replace the heat treatment process, which requires a significant amount of time to achieve the same result. This approach is expected to facilitate the production and commercialization of PbS quantum dot solar cells in the future.

Blue energy has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. In simple terms, it involves harnessing the energy produced when the ions in a salt solution move from high to low concentrations.